


Sword of Rebellion

by Agent66



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Homeworld (Steven Universe), Homeworld Hierarchy (Steven Universe), Homeworld is Horrible, The Rebellion (Steven Universe), The War (Steven Universe)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-05
Updated: 2017-05-06
Packaged: 2018-10-28 09:33:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10828548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Agent66/pseuds/Agent66
Summary: “War is what happens when language fails.” – Margaret AtwoodThis wasn't supposed to happen. Gems don't rebel, but when these gems did, it changed everything the Diamonds, Homeworld, and even the Crystal Gems knew.Ch I: In which two snap decisions change the course of the conflict between Homeworld's Diamond Authority and the rebels known as The Crystal Gems.





	1. Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! So I had really wanted to get this out of the way before this upcoming bomb and well...that didn't. However, thankfully, it still manages to be canon compliant and doesn't truly give anything away for anyone who's looking to watch the episodes starting Monday. This is a four part feature that looks at the rebellion and the war from the eyes of the Diamonds and Homeworld. It also incorporates theories/head canons that I believe hold enough evidence backed by canon to be truthful until otherwise told:
> 
> 1\. the episode The Answer takes place _after_ Pink Diamond was shattered.  
>  2\. The rebellion and the war were _two separate_ things, however they both took place during the thousand year or so length battle for Earth.  
>  3\. The Crystal Gems, while large, didn't hold the same numbers Homeworld did (millions vs a few hundred). I'm basing this on the rather stylized version of 300, as history has proven than there was more than just 300 Spartans, but more importantly, I want the imagery to be along those lines.  
> 4\. Rose Quartz was the only quartz/gem with healing abilities  
> 5\. The Diamonds are tyrants with occasional bouts of compassion that is always for their benefit, not others.  
> 6\. Garnet is most likely the inspiration for the gem experiments and the cluster.
> 
> There's another idea to this, but telling you would spoil it, so you'll just have to wait for chapter 4! Also, a shout out to the fic [The World Left Behind](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5707735/chapters/13148386) for the idea of what happened to the rubies after The Aftermath. It was too good not to incorporate into my thinking. Go check it out!
> 
> I also love discussing theories, especially if there's one I don't agree with, but please no 'I don't need a reason to explain this' comments. If you have a reason, with actual canon evidence to back it up, then let's dance cause I really do like trying to figure how people come up with different ideas based on the same episode.
> 
> Spoilers here up to Room for Ruby, but with an emphasis on The Answer, Steven's Dream, Adventures in Light Distortion, and everything Peridot has been in.
> 
> As always, thanks to everyone who has read my previous fics and thanks to those of you reading now! Please let me know what you think down in the comments below! 
> 
> Enjoy!

 

**Chapter I – Aftermath**

**_“When the sword of rebellion is drawn, the sheath should be thrown away.”_ **

**Anonymous**

 

 

Murmurs interrupted the shocked silence in the court. What had happened? What was _going_ to happen? Nothing like this had ever been seen, in any court, and the crowd was still in stunned surprise. The rebels had attacked Blue Diamond’s court and though she had surrounded herself with the strongest of gems, the two had been able to escape.

But that wasn’t what the murmuring was about.

In the midst of the rebels’ attack, a lone ruby soldier had leaped in front of the gem known as the Renegade Pearl and dared put her hands on Blue Diamond’s personal sapphire. And then…

The two fused.

Disgusting!

Outrageous!

Unheard of!

An abomination to be sure.

The… _thing_ was still clear in the minds of the crowd and of their Diamond; it was really too hard of a thing to miss. And worse! Instead of allowing punishment to be handled out, the sapphire had run off with the ruby and down to the horrid planet below. It just didn’t make sense. Above it all though, Blue Diamond was quiet and it was causing a stir as her gems wondered what their monarch would do.

“Silence!”

She had spoken and the court immediately did her bidding, turning to look at her, awaiting the next steps to hopefully put this nightmare out of their minds. Blue Diamond, though sitting, still loomed large over her subjects. Anger and revulsion were coursing through her form and it took all of her control not to leap down and smash every single gem standing before her. Cloaked though she was, her steel blue eyes surveyed everyone before her, pinning a Holly Blue Agate among her loyal followers.

“Agate,” she called, waiting as the gem quickly hurried to reach her palanquin throne.

“Yes, My Diamond?”

“Prepare a squadron of quartz soldiers,” she said, her voice calm and even. “I want those two found. And I want the rebels found. And when they are, I want them all _broken_.”

“Yes, My Diamond,” Holly Blue nodded, bowing in respect. “I will see it done at once.”

Raising her head a fraction, Blue addressed her court. “We have seen something unspeakable today,” she began. “Something that will haunt us, I’m sure. But we will _not_ let this stand. The rebels have been a nuisance to us for decades, but they _will_ be stopped. For now, we will return to Homeworld to try and forget the scene we saw…it will be difficult, but rest assured, that as your Diamond, I will make those who dare defile our society pay dearly.”

Appreciative claps went around the arena, the gem elite and aristocrats safe in the knowledge that their Diamond knew all and would put a stop to such blasphemous behavior. The group began to head out, leaving Blue and her pearl to leave last. Pearl had dutifully gone and retrieved the gems of the fallen, the two defeated jaspers and the two ruby soldiers, before heading back inside the enclosure. With a subtle gesture, the palanquin rose and began the walk back to the Diamond’s ship.

Blue hadn’t wanted to be down here on Earth, but Yellow had told her it was her duty to wrangle some kind of order on the planet. While time truly meant nothing to a gem, Blue had been counting the days since… _it_ …happened and today marked one hundred and forty-three years. And the more time went on, the angrier Blue and the others got. How hard was it to capture _two_ rebel gems!?

Apparently, harder than they imagined.

Rose Quartz and her disgraceful pearl seemed untouchable, clearly, as they had yet to be caught. Sending in their best had done nothing but reduce them to their gems and obviously, not even a Diamond could…

Shaking her head, Blue stopped that train of thought.

“Pearl.”

“Yes, My Diamond?”

“I have an important task for you,” Blue replied.

“Of course,” the lowly pearl replied, her head nodding in acquisition. “Whatever you need.”

“Find out the cut and facet of that ruby,” she said. “The one that ran off.”

“Of course.”

“And have every one of them broken. And I want all sapphires to be gathered in my quarters once we reach Homeworld.”

“Yes, My Diamond,” the pearl said. She held up the four gems she had in her hands. “What about them?”

Blue narrowed her eyes. They wouldn’t be in this mess had the four of them had done their jobs. “Destroy them,” she commanded. “And make sure the jaspers are there to watch. I will not abide or tolerate _incompetence_ in my court. If they wish to survive, they will discover their comrades’ failings and _correct_ them.”

Pearl nodded. The commands were quite harsh, but to be expected. After all, in light of what happened, how would anyone learn? Gem society hinged on order and compliance and when gems went outside that, well…calamity ensured, as it did that day.

The blue servant would accompany her Diamond back to Homeworld before immediately setting out to see her requests were done. By the end of it, rubies of cut 6 from Facet 8 where no longer in production, with exception of the lone ruby down on the Earth. Sapphires, whom were already rare, lost two of their gems – one who ran off the Cloud Arena with some no name ruby and one whom Blue Diamond shattered in front of the others, a reminder and a warning of who they were and who they served.


	2. Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Diamonds gather and discuss a possible inside job and Blue tries her hand at bargaining.

 

**Chapter II – Meeting**

**_“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.”_ **

**Sun Tzu, _The Art of War_**

 

 

Blue Diamond was ushered into the sterile white chambers and lead to a cream-colored bench. “Blue, thank the stars you’re here! Come here, dear, sit down. I can’t believe all you’ve been through.”

White Diamond, the leading matriarch of the Great Diamond Authority had immediately sent communications to her two fellow rulers, imploring both to travel back to Homeworld to meet with her. Despite being within different galaxies and colonies, the Diamonds knew all - they made sure to keep their eyes and ears on their subjects, making sure that everything was in order. Subjects from each court were instructed, nay _encouraged_ , to report any deviant behavior from their fellow gems.

This routine had doubled since two gems – a rose quartz and a lowly pearl – had gone rogue and started an irritating ‘rebellion’. The Diamonds had yet to figure out how the two were able to come across sensitive information regarding gem production on Earth, but it was becoming irksome. This latest violation of their society only seemed to heighten the growing discord among those on Homeworld.

“We of course heard what happened,” that was Yellow Diamond, commander of their military forces, usually consisting of rubies and quartz soldiers. Many of… _her_ …quartz soldiers had been converted to Yellow’s court, though there were some that were transferred to Blue and White’s courts. “These rebels go too far.”

“Agreed,” White replied, taking a seat next to Blue and patting one of her hands. “Attacking a Diamond is most unheard of, but then what can you expect from such…well, words aren’t enough to clearly describe their actions. However -” White turned to her colored counterpart and gave her arm a squeeze. “I’m sure it wasn’t just the attack that has unsettled you.”

Blue lowered the cowl on her cloak, returning White’s look. “It’s not the largest part, no,” she whispered. “I take it you heard.”

“How could you not?” Yellow questioned, pacing in front of them. “A rebel attack is one thing, but…that _abomination_! Who did it?”

“A ruby and my sapphire.”

“Surely not!” White exclaimed. “We hadn’t heard this, only that two of your court dared to fuse, but your sapphire and…how dare she!”

“Have they been shattered?” asked the military commander.

Blue shook her head. “Sapphire grabbed the ruby and fled,” she answered. “However, I have a team looking for both them and the rebels, with the order to break them on sight.”

“Good,” Yellow growled.

“This is concerning to me,” White sighed. “This rebellious act by Rose Quartz and that pearl are obviously causing repercussions. Why else would a ruby think she could even _touch_ a sapphire?”

“Could it be possible the ruby was in on it?” Yellow asked, eyes narrowed.

“I’m not sure,” Blue replied. “The renegade pearl was able to take down the other two rubies, after the quartz dissipated their fusion.”

“What was she doing there?” White asked. “Your sapphire, I mean.”

“She held a vision,” Yellow answered. “She apparently foresaw the end of the rebellion, which clearly was a lie.”

White narrowed her eyes as she looked between the two. “I’m so glad you felt the need to inform _me_ of this,” she hissed.

“As you have so often reminded us, it is our duty as Diamonds to handle our own affairs,” Blue retorted. “As it stands, Earth is currently under my direction…”

“Something I don’t remember authorizing,” the matriarch interrupted. “And how has that worked for you, so far, hmm? These rebels have been attacking kindergartens and other production facilities all over the planet and just the other day, they tried to assassinate you. And then of course, there is the fusion between a lowly, common ruby and your personal sapphire.”

The azure leader leaned closer to her cream counterpart, sneering as she did. “If you think you can do better, then by all means, _sister_ , take the planet from me. If you dare to do so.”

White’s demeanor never changed as she met Blue's cobalt eyes. Her face suddenly broke into a wide smile, followed by a chuckle. “There you are,” she whispered. “I was afraid we had lost you in all this… _madness_. No Blue, I wouldn’t dare taking the planet from you, even if Yellow challenged me for it. But we’re getting off topic. You dismissed the idea of the ruby being a part of the coup; have you considered your _sapphire_?”

“You think she was a part of it?”

“I don’t know, Blue,” White responded, her eyes never leaving from Blue’s face. “What do you think?”

Blue could only sigh. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “Though I’d like to think that no, she wasn’t. But Yellow is correct – information is being given to the rebels and we’ve yet to discover where the leak could be. But let’s say it _was_ sapphire – why would she tell me about the rebels’ defeat if she was to run away to join them?”

“Is there anything these rebels do that make sense?” Yellow spat. “Isn’t it bad enough that quartz has a _pearl_ thinking for herself? And now you’ve got a ruby _fusing_ with a sapphire. It’s disgusting and abhorrent.”

As much as Yellow complained and railed, she did bring up something that perhaps Blue refused to even consider. “You don’t believe these were two separate incidents.”

“No, I do not.”

“And what is your evidence, Yellow?” White asked.

“I see two possibilities,” the gold leader responded, stopping her pacing to stand before the two. “The first seems rather obvious – this ruby was a plant from the rebels in order to get close to you and purposely fused with your sapphire. I can only imagine that the rebels are now in possession of her.”

“And the second?”

“The second is that your sapphire was involved,” Yellow continued, raising a hand to forestall any complaints. “I know you don’t want to hear it, but it’s something you need to consider. Your sapphire was the rebels plant and that ruby just got in the way. In that scenario, the ruby is most likely broken anyway, while in the first…I can’t imagine what tortures that sapphire is going through.

“Let’s hope they don’t manage to turn her against us.”

 

* * *

 

Another twenty years went by and Homeworld was no closer to stopping or defeating these _Crystal Gems_. In fact, things had only gotten worse – while the Diamonds had discovered where their leaks were and had taken steps to eradicate those who worked in their courts, that seemed to only be a rallying cry for the rebels.

As Yellow had predicted, the rebels were now using Blue’s sapphire in their midst and as bad as that was, it wasn’t nearly as reprehensible as the fact that the abomination created in the Cloud Arena now seemed a permanent fixture for the rebels. More and more gems were flocking to their side, their ridiculous ideals of self-identity and freedom a horrific bastardization of the loyalty shown by their betters.

As though a lowly ruby had anything in common with a sapphire; as though a pearl had any right to learn basic combat maneuvers. As though a quartz had any right to attack a _diamond_.

But these…thoughts and feelings began to permeate throughout the gems still on Earth until Homeworld forces were fighting against more fellow gems. It was embarrassing! More so when it was clear that Rose Quartz kept the pearl and the abomination as her closest lieutenants and they were the ones able to plan their attacks.

Blue threw her best sapphires at the problem, hoping they could find ways to counteract the latest tactics of Rose and her infidels, only to be thwarted by her previous sapphire’s obvious presence within the rebels. However, the rebels’ sapphire seemed to have a leg up on their own seers’ powers and the Diamonds couldn’t figure out what that thing was.

Blue’s Sapphire – the one that had defected – had been rare amongst even her other cuts, with her precognition having a narrower focus on future events. The other sapphires could obviously see, but they could only go as far as a few hours or days, where Sapphire could go even further than that. No, Sapphire had been an extremely rare case even amongst her facet and cut and now, she was working for the enemy.

This should have been not only upsetting, but troubling – it certainly was for Yellow, who seemed to be losing more and more of her own forces battling against these rebels. Lately, she had been calling for all and out war against them, and while White was trying her best to temper the commander, Blue could tell they were really just waiting for her to make a decision vote.

However…that was becoming harder and harder to do.

It wasn’t that Blue didn’t want the rebels to be punished - she did! Absolutely! – but she was starting to feel that starting a war with them would only make things worse. And Blue didn’t want to make things _worse_. White and Yellow tended to do that – they had completely redone the Diamond Authority symbol, removing the fourth diamond to leave only three insignias and Yellow had finally been granted the ability to outfit her soldiers with her Diamond.

She said it was so they could proudly show those gems on Earth the solidarity Homeworld had, for themselves and their Diamonds.

Blue and White knew it was so she could know _exactly_ which gems had acted in a manner unbecoming of Homeworld and easily deal with them.

White continued on, requesting members of Blue’s court scout the far reaches of the galaxy to further their expansion. Truthfully, White didn’t care about the Earth or the gems on it; the call for war would hopefully put an end to all of this and they could easily take the planet from the rebels or destroy it. Either way suited her just fine.

But it didn’t suit Blue _just fine_. She couldn’t understand how the other two could just…just…forget!

It bothered Blue immensely, how the others could seemingly just forget what had happened one hundred and sixty-seven years ago. And it apparently bothered her so much, she had gathered her pearl and her ship and just left. She didn’t know where she would head until she actually got there and without even realizing it, she was kneeling in front of a familiar palanquin, near identical to hers, but pink instead of blue.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice low and directed at the ground below her. “I’m so sorry. I should have done more. We knew the rebels were causing trouble, but we never thought they would do this.” Lifting her head to gaze at the transport’s wreckage, she asked, “What would you have done, were you still here?

“Yellow wants to start a war. White, per usual, could barely lift an eyebrow to care. And I…I don’t know what I should do. How…how do I make this up to you?”

“My Diamond?”

“Yes, Pearl.”

“Forgive me, but we seem to be getting reports,” the small gem replied. “I believe the rebels are in the area.”

For a moment, Blue thought about standing her ground. Perhaps the element of surprise would catch the rebels off guard and she could put a stop to this once and for all…but as quickly as the thought came, it left in a wave of guilt. That’s what _she_ had thought too – there was going to be a kindergarten here and she had wanted to oversee it herself. She was going to stop this petty rebellion in its tracks.

Yellow never let her live it down that two members of her own court had turned against her. She had taken that as a challenge and she was going to rub her victory in Yellow’s smug face…

“Quickly,” Blue said, standing and heading towards her ship, her pearl rushing behind her. “We can’t allow the rebels to see that I’ve been here.”

They had escaped the eye of the rebels, though Blue wasn’t exactly sure if she had escaped the eye of the fusion holding her sapphire. Surely not. But the return trip to her nearest colony did put the seeds of an idea into the diamond’s head. If White and Yellow wanted to pretend nothing happened, fine, but she would _never_ forget.

This was a test. Yes, a test put on by her court! Why else would two of her members rebel? Blue didn’t know where the fusion fit, but a test couldn’t be the same thing over and over. In fact, this ‘test’ had taken up too much time as it was and it was clear they were failing it. _Miserably_. So if this whole ordeal was a test, how exactly were they supposed to pass?

The rebels. They were always going on and on about the planet, disrupting the production of kindergartens and buildings all over. Wait. That was it. Rose Quartz wanted to protect the planet and its inhabitants, its organics, its… _humans_.

Blue knew what she had to do.

“Navigator, we’re taking a detour,” she announced. “Change course to head to the human zoo.”

“The…the human zoo?”

“Yes,” Blue hissed, narrowing her eyes at the amethyst she had piloting her ship.

“Of course, My Diamond!” The amethyst made a hasty salute before inputting the coordinates to direct the ship to the platform known as the human zoo.

“Pearl?”

“Yes, My Diamond?”

“I need you to do a bit of research for me…”


	3. Thunderbolt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yellow tries to fight fire with fire, but ultimately just throws more fuel into the flames.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some inspiration for this comes from the work [War Hammer](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10772433), which ponders the awesome might of the magical, mystical MC we all love, Sardonyx during the war. Go check it out!

 

 

**Chapter III – Thunderbolt**

**_“Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt.”_ **

**Sun Tzu _, The Art of War_**

 

 

Yellow Diamond was not happy.

True, her very personality would dictate that she rarely enjoyed any gem pleasures granted by her position, however as this war with the Crystal Gems continued, her mood only grew worse and worse. It had been nearly three hundred years since the whole ordeal began, though it had truly only been one hundred years since Homeworld had openly declared war on the gems who held Earth under siege.

As commander of Homeworld’s military forces, Yellow had taken great pleasure in sending out the official word of war, bolstering her militia with rewards of glory for every traitorous gem they destroyed on the battlefield. And she made sure her soldiers gave no edge to these rebellious heathens – when engaged in combat, these Crystal Gems were to be captured or shattered.

No exceptions.

You would think her command to be clear, concise and without error or confusion. Apparently, you and she would be wrong. Time after time, the commander would receive a report in which hundreds of her solider had been beaten by Rose Quartz’ forces, which didn’t even number a quarter of what Yellow sent down to that miserable planet. And just today, the diamond now learned why and how.

Rose Quartz had healing abilities.

It explained why despite having so few numbers, her rebels were able to take on battalions of soldiers and come none the worse for wear. It was extraordinary – no other gem had ever shown this capability before and it was certainly unheard of for a quartz. Quartzes – jaspers, amethysts, and the rose variety – were grown for the specific purpose of being soldiers. Their job was to fight for their diamonds and for their kind.

Rubies were just throwaways that helped to slow down and tire opposing forces; throw enough rubies at someone and they would need to stop or were soon overrun. Rubies were fierce, no doubt – their hot-tempered personalities always ensured they thought nothing of plunging head first into battle – but they weren’t the _main_ attraction.

No, the quartz soldiers were. Created to be large, formidable, and intimidating, these soldiers came at you with a purpose and that purpose was to **_win_**. It seemed Rose Quartz was an anomaly – a soldier who healed.

Yellow couldn’t help but smirk. Was it any surprise this entanglement had lasted longer than it should have?

It was unheard of. _Many_ things in this conflict were unheard of. And that lead to the other discovery and the one that caused Yellow’s constant frown to deepen.

Fusion.

Fusion was a standard practice on Homeworld for battle and fighting formations, period. There was no use for it outside of a battlefield and was only to be used with the same gem types. But now…now Rose Quartz was parading that disgusting display that had been created in Blue’s court. Since that day, the ‘Formidable Fusion’ – as they called it – enjoyed belittling everything Homeworld stood for.

If that wasn’t enough, other members of the rebels were now fusing with each other.

Yellow even read one report where the fusion had fused with the pearl. Only the resulting scowl on her face had kept her from becoming sick all over herself. They were perverting everything of Homeworld and of their authority. Quartz even had those puny organics on the planet fighting for and with her!

Yellow was growing very tired of it.

Fine. If Rose Quartz wanted to play this game, then play they shall. The Diamonds had indulged this behavior long enough; it was time to even the playing field.

 

* * *

 

Gems never kept track of time. It was useless to beings who were immortal and could never truly die unless shattered; it was inconsequential.

However, in the ongoing conflict with the rebels on Earth, every gem now seemed to know how long the passage of time was. Nearly three hundred years had been devoted to trying to stop these two infidels from smudging the good name the Diamonds had built for Homeworld and its people and for three hundred years, the rebellion had grown to include even more brain washed simpletons who thought they stood a chance against the force and might of the Diamond Authority.

But in those three hundred years and counting, the Crystal Gems had managed to upend everything gem society held dear. From two wayward miscreants to the now two hundred and fifteen membered army, Earth’s rebels had managed to not only thumb their noses and gems at Homeworld society, but had manage to sway so many to their side. Yellow’s own soldiers had reported that spires and architecture had been abandoned, thanks to their bismuths flocking to the rebels.

Kindergartens had quickly ground to a stop – the Prime Kindergarten in facet nine had all but been abandoned, with a number of those amethysts being split between Homeworld and Rebel forces. Even the newly built Beta Kindergarten hadn’t stood a chance – it had stopped producing jaspers once Pink Diamond had been shattered and those who emerged were quickly put into service under Yellow’s military banner.

Most were defective – only one perfect jasper had been created and thankfully she had been so angered by the rebels’ actions that day, she declared herself the weapon Yellow needed to avenge her Diamond – while others truly only worked well as fusions, their combined height and mass able to knock around anything the rebels threw at them. But the rebels weren’t, by any means, playing the way they should.

And that’s what led Yellow to call in a group of soldiers for most of the day. For years, most gems had no idea what had occurred behind closed doors; many assumed those soldiers were being punished. Why else were their broken shards removed and repurposed? Others thought they were suspected sympathizers or traitors in disguise and had finally been caught.

The truth was even more disturbing.

Since discovering the rebels employed cross-fusions as their main weapon of choice, Yellow was determined to fight fire with fire. As disgusting as the practice was, the commander wasn’t above doing whatever it took to beat back and beat down these insurgents and if cross-fusing was the way to do it, so be it.

So, she had brought in a mix of soldiers – jaspers, amethysts, rubies, topazes, emeralds, beryls – and told them to fuse.

Naturally, everyone in the room was immediately appalled by such a command. Surely their Diamond wouldn’t, _couldn’t_ request this of them! But she was and she wanted it done now. Those that refused were immediately broken, right in front of their comrades. The rest were then at least willing to listen, of course. Yellow first wanted confirmation – these gems had been on the battlefield, had fought against the rebels, and thankfully, lived to tell the tale – she wanted to know if it was true that the rebels were using fusions.

They all said it was true – many of the rebels would fuse with unlike gems to create new and hideous monsters. The worst was the fusion between the Formidable Fusion and the Renegade Pearl (so it _was_ true) – it never behaved in a manner befitting a true soldier, but it took down more of their forces than the others, thanks to an unorthodox giant, two fisted hammer. It always smiled, made jokes, and laughed.

The laugh was the worse.

Soldiers familiar with it knew the worse was coming when they heard that ear splitting cackle.

Yellow tried not to let her emotions show, but inside she was _seething_. They were losing a _war_ started by _their own people_ and by a large margin. Never in the history of Homeworld had the Diamonds or their forces faced such overwhelming odds, _never_. And they shouldn’t have been overwhelming in the first place! This all started with two, no-name gems! Two, no-name gems had managed to disrupt production on an _entire planet_ and the proceeded to lure _hundreds_ of others to their cause!

How was this happening!?

Well, Yellow was done letting these rebels walk all over her and them! She asked the soldiers how these abominations came to be and then to do the _exact same thing_ in order to create their own. She knew what she was asking and any other day, she would feel badly at having to put them through this, but today was not that day and that day would never come during this conflict.

And this day was very long. And extremely unproductive.

Out of the twenty or so soldiers that were left, only five of them were actually able to complete a fusion, however they only lasted for about a minute. None of them could sustain their form – the revulsion of being in a fusion with a gem that wasn’t theirs seemed to be too much – and they immediately broke apart.

In the midst of apologies and determined air to get it right, Yellow had every single one of them destroyed.

It almost seemed as though nothing could lift her spirits. Then a report came in, followed by another and then another.

After almost three hundred years, they had finally managed to capture a few of these Crystal Gems. Yellow’s first inclination was to have them shattered post haste, but she paused. The key to this war, she was sure, was the fusion. Its disgusting presence had caused her to put it out of her mind, least she become ill, but now…

Thinking back, she remembered her conversation with Blue and White. Blue had said the fusion was made of a ruby and her personal sapphire; that would certainly explain the rebels’ ability to know when forces were coming, as well as when and where to strike her soldiers, and her tenacious fighting skills. A ruby’s stubborn nature mixed with the seeing abilities of a sapphire. It shouldn’t be possible or even work.

But yet…

Yellow ordered those captured to be interrogated and if they refused to reveal information, they were to be shattered. However, she wanted the shards kept.

If she couldn’t discover the secret to the rebels’ fusions, she would create her own.


	4. Miscalculation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Diamond Authority miscalculates and no one truly wins the war.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are at the end! And it's a LONG one cause I has lots of info to tell you! Like that 7th theory I couldn't mention before -
> 
> 7\. The 'corruption wave/light' was not meant to cause corruption
> 
> I go into more detail in the chapter, but essentially I remembered something Peridot says in Kindergarten Kid - Steven asks if corruption is like this on Homeworld and she responds that Homeworld doesn't _have_ corrupted gems. Which made me wonder - how the heck did the DA manage to create a weapon to cause corruption when they probably don't know what corruption even is.
> 
> And then it came to me - because the light we see in Same Old World and told to us by Lapis Lazuli and Centipeedle wasn't supposed to corrupt anything; it was meant to _destroy everything_.
> 
> Again, I explain it in the chapter, but if you'd like to discuss it more, leave me a comment, question, or concern in the comment section.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who has read, bookmarked, kudos, commented, and everything in between!
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> *Sorry for the missed post. Forgot to change the date when I updated the draft*

**Chapter IV – Miscalculation**

**_“War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it. The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over.”_  **

**Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, Civil War 1861-1865**

 

A thousand years.

One thousand years ago, an unruly rose quartz corrupted a lowly pearl and began a rebellion against their diamonds and their own people. Apparently, two gems causing havoc was enough to upset the millennia of balance and society Homeworld stood for – a new colony destroyed, a new planet within their empire lost, a Diamond murdered, and their society splintered.

During those years, two gems would turn into three and then into four hundred; the rebel forces were just a drop in the galactic pan that was Homeworld military might. For every rebel gem, there were a thousand troops on a bad day and Homeworld had fought larger forces than this before; they had conquered numerous planets and societies with a wave of their hands, taking the planet and its resources. The Great Diamond Authority had never faced opponents like these before. They were a conquering race, that’s what they did, and up until now, they had done it well. Yes, they had faced opposition – apparently, planets didn’t like when you tried to invade them – but it had been easily overcome. Nothing had withstood their superior military and technological might.

Until they faced off against their own kind.

A thousand years was a long time for a war.

In one thousand years, a small group of rebel gems had managed to nearly topple the Diamond regime. Homeworld resources were nearly exhausted, gem production halted on the planet of Earth, while other colonies had upped production so they could be used to battle against the forces below. Things were not turning out the way they should have and it had put the Diamond Authority in a tizzy.

The three remaining leaders were supposed to meet on the former planet of Xelcor, now colony Y376. It was a member of Yellow Diamond’s planetary colonies and according to her, the most secure within their entire system. The war had not only taken a toll on her military, but on her very thread of reality; she had grown increasingly paranoid, especially with the gems in her own court. She had whittled down her entourage down to just her pearl, placing more administrative duties on the gem’s shoulders.

It was ironic actually that Yellow should turn to a pearl after everything a rogue one of her kind had done.

White Diamond had traveled from her chambers on Homeworld, though she wasn’t happy about doing so. Yellow insisted that the rebels were no doubt monitoring their communications and speaking through these channels, though highly secure, could cause a potential for leaks that would ultimately sink their entire empire. White was sure communications were fine, but she found the longer this war continued, the more she had to indulge Yellow’s usual baseless claims.

Blue did not attend.

She contacted them via her communicator, which only lead to Yellow dressing her down for doing so, but her azure colored sister couldn’t be bothered to care. Blue had spent the better part of this war trying to preserve the memory of their fallen sister - liberating the rose quartz gems she had created and bubbling them before Yellow destroyed any more, outfitting her zoo to be more personable to the humans who lived there, and putting the majority of the gems grown on Earth in charge of it. If she couldn’t have Pink, she would at least keep the things she created and cared for.

She knew her other colonies were suffering – she had once been very good at overseeing her entire court, but now she could barely think past her constant pearl companion – but she had put capable people in charge, so everything should be fine. She assumed. She really didn’t care, to be honest. What was the point? The rebels gained new ground every day and it was just a matter of time before their home spun ideas on Earth would infect the rest of their empire.

And maybe that was for the best. They deserved this, didn’t they? They had done something wrong and they were paying for it; perhaps it was the gall to try and take the Earth. There were other planets around it, but that was the first they focused on. At the time, it was because there were living organics on the planet and they knew from experience that taking out the organics first would allow them to do whatever they wanted to the planet and its resources.

But Earth had proven to be their downfall. Something about that planet – it turned gem against gem, heightened and exploited taboos, and took down a Diamond with barely a whisper. Blue didn’t need a sapphire to tell her that Earth would be their doom and would lead to their destruction one day, she just didn’t know when.

“What is the status of the war?” White asked, oblivious to Blue’s dreadful thoughts.

“It’s going well…” Yellow began, though the grimace she tried to hide wasn’t lost on the elder gem.

“Really? Because last I heard, those… _rebels_ had managed to destroy two galaxy warps and halted production on another three spires.”

“There have been some setbacks…”

“Have there?” White asked, sarcastically. “I wouldn’t have known. Oh wait. Yes, I would have because _we’re still fighting a war_.”

Yellow narrowed her eyes in annoyance. “Your comments are not appreciated.”

“Do you know what I don’t appreciate?” White whispered, taking measured steps until she stood directly in Yellow’s line of sight. “I do not appreciate having the entirety of our civilization die because of a bunch of misguided _miscreants_. I do not appreciate having to drop everything to come rushing to your aid when your obviously inferior troops are defeated by an _abomination_.” Sending a look to Blue on the holo-screen, she continued with, “I definitely do not appreciate having to oversee my sister’s own colonies because she seems incapable of doing so." She turned her hard gaze back on Yellow. "And I certainly do not appreciate spending a thousand years losing a war to a pair of upstarts.

“I want this war to be over, Yellow. And I do not care how you do it, just. Do it. I would very much appreciate _that_. And if, at this point in time, you have _any_ thoughts on achieving that, you will do well to tell me. _Now_.”

Yellow did her utmost to retain her composure, but she would be lying if she wasn’t intimidated. White Diamond was the oldest of their order, already having a number of colonies before Yellow and Blue came on the scene; while she was usually jovial, White was never one to be underestimated.

“My scientists have been working on something…”

“Which is?”

Yellow cleared her throat. “I’m sure you’ve heard the reports about the rebels’ fusions -” White shuddered. “My thought was to counter them with fusions of our own.”

“I had heard,” White replied, her tone distasteful. “I had hoped it was just a rumor.”

“You wanted to win the war and I sought to do that,” the military leader defended. “Unfortunately… _that_ idea fell through the cracks. However…”

“If there’s a point to all this,” White interrupted. “Please feel free to make it.”

“However,” Yellow continued. “It gave me the idea for something even better. Over this millennia, my scientists have been creating a geo-weapon from the shattered shards of the rebels.”

“What?” This was the first thing Blue had said since stating the reasons for her not attending.

“Go on,” said White.

“I wanted to create a fusion to combat the rebels,” the commander stated. “When I couldn’t do that voluntarily, I chose the next best thing. For every captured rebel we’ve gotten, I’ve kept their shattered remains, which my scientists have used to fuse them together.”

“How is that possible?” Blue asked. “When a gem is broken, it’s unable to form.”

“That’s true,” Yellow said. “When you don’t put those shards back together. However, we know from reports that Rose Quartz has some sort of healing ability that has allowed her forces to remain in the fight, while we are continuously having to raise more gems before their incubation period is over. I took that concept and applied it to this fusion idea.

“We’ve simply engineered the broken shards together – putting a jasper shard with a bismuth, for example – and allowing the gem to natively try to reform.”

“Do they?” asked White, now curious.

“No,” Yellow replied. “Not yet at least. And that’s the beauty of it. As we speak, my scientists have been fusing together the shards of the rebel forces for years; the more shards, the bigger it gets.”

“The bigger _what_ gets?”

“My scientists and I have been calling it the cluster. The plan is to gather as many shards as possible and fuse them together. We will then incubate them within the Earth’s crust, where it will form, and…”

“Destroy the planet,” Blue whispered, her eyes wide.

White appraised the military commander. “I’m impressed, Yellow,” she stated. “I wasn’t sure if you’d ever come up with something so ingenious.”

“I’ll take your compliment,” Yellow sneered. “Regardless of how you intended it.”

“No disrespect, of course,” White amended. “While brilliant in its theory and application, there is one slight problem to your plan.”

“The timeframe,” Yellow sighed. “I know. But you’ve seen what happens when we rush production. I don’t even know why Blue insisted on taking those defected jaspers into her care.”

“I needed them.”

“I’m sure you did.”

“None the less,” White interjected. “I like your idea, but it’ll take too long. I want this war over _now_. Not tomorrow, a week from now, or another thousand years. Now.”

“And you have a way to do that?” questioned Yellow.

“Of course,” White replied. “We’ve _always_ had the way and it’s something we should’ve done at the start.”

 

* * *

 

Despite the ongoing conflict happening on Earth, those Homeworld gems who currently spent time on the planet tried to avoid such things. They were doing more important things, such as trying to stick to the plans set forth by the planet, even with the interference from the rebels.

Within spires and towers, Homeworld gems either planned, probed, or partied – as the rebels were making it more and more difficult to actually work on plans for a completed Earth colony, gems tended to gather within their social hierarchy – lowly gems continued planning, while the upper crusts enjoyed social engagements.

The top tiered military personnel also used these locations to interrogate prisoners or to repurpose them. One such gem, a lapis lazuli, had been captured on the ground during a battle, claiming she had no affiliation to the rebels, but they had taken her anyway. If she _was_ a rebel, she was good at not talking and if she was who she claimed – a terraformer for Blue Diamond – then it was better she _didn’t_ go back to Homeworld, least she inform people about her capture.

Instead, they placed her in a lovely mirror, something the organics on the planet seemed to be drawn to these days. Having a gem powered object was extremely helpful in all activities and this lazuli powered one was great at viewing locations and giving information. Unfortunately, she didn’t have the information they wanted, but…she was still useful.

Every gem had its place and those places always had purpose.

 

* * *

 

The call came at night.

The sound of alarms and klaxons blared through every single Homeworld built structure. It wasn’t a proximity alarm, such as those that went up if the rebels were seen in the area, but something much worse.

It was the evacuation alarm.

For whatever reason, the Diamonds wanted everyone off the planet and they wanted them off _now_. It was chaos, a mad scramble for the closest warp pad that would lead them all to the galaxy warp back to Homeworld. Gems pushed, pulled, elbowed, punched, fought…they just needed to _leave_. Those who had come in antiquated ships, outdated once the concept of warp pads was discovered and created, frantically rushed to their only means of escape.

In the scuffle, the beautiful mirror that held Lapis Lazuli was dropped and stepped on, left mere inches from the galaxy warp back home.

A nephrite captain had been separated from her crew and she had been desperate to find them. This trip to Earth was supposed to be short, a recon mission of information and plan updates and instead, she was about to miss her window of escape. She was within her rights to do so, but she just couldn’t leave her crew. They had been with her throughout this whole ordeal, had even rescued her when she had the misfortune of being on the wrong side of the Renegade Pearl. She couldn’t leave them here. She had to find them, she had to!

 

* * *

 

On Homeworld, the Diamonds were the ultimate authority, and not because they were unmatched in size and power. The Diamonds had the ability to create life, they also had the ability to _take it away_.

A species as long lived as the Diamonds and their gem subjects do not get this way by allowing laziness and resistance. Homeworld’s system was made up of hundreds of worlds and their moons and these were not acquired by gently asking for them. Gems were constructed to be conquers; invaded worlds had a choice – give up their world, their resources, and become slaves or be destroyed.

Ultimately, even those aliens who went peacefully were destroyed – the gems had no use for their primitive minds or technology and if they did, they would be repurposed to match what Homeworld and their society needed.

Sometimes, rarely, they would be met with resistance. Beings who thought their technology matched or outclassed the invaders, decided they would defend their planet and their people. The Diamonds let them have their way, for a while, and then they would unleash their power on the planet. It was a sonic light, a power derived from White, Yellow, and Blue combining their own energies into a light that engulfed the planet and anyone on it.

Within the matter of minutes, their resistance problems were taken care of – everything on the surface was destroyed and it allowed Homeworld gems to come in and take control the planet.

The fact that it took them a thousand years and countless resources to perform this same maneuver on Earth was not to be stated or talked about. Ever. The Crystal Gems had made a mockery of the Diamond Authority with this war and the costs of its continuation was not something White Diamond wanted to invest in. She was done with this planet.

So she gathered the others to the moon base they had deployed to oversee the Earth and make quick communications. She silenced them both before they could start complaining and told them exactly what was going to happen; it was times like these she did miss her younger counterpart. They hadn’t gotten around to teaching her this technique before the rebels got a hold of her, so White could only imagine the delightful destruction all four of their powers could’ve wrought on one planet.

Ah, such as fate.

Gathering together, the three began the ritual, safe in the knowledge that this whole ordeal would be over soon.

 

* * *

 

Fate often times finds fault in even the most simple of plans.

A sapphire could tell you what the proper outcome should have been – the Diamonds would unleash their energy wave and it would have wiped out the majority of people, animals, and gems on Earth’s surface. The planet would be devastated, but would after a time, begin to support life again. However, by the time this would happen, the cluster – the weapon that laid dormant within the planet – would emerge, taking half of the planet and its people with it.

It would lose its orbit and ultimately crash into the sun, removing it from the Crystal System entirely.

That…is not what happened.

Showcasing just how little the Diamonds and Homeworld understood Earth outside of its minerals, the energy wave released by the Diamonds did _not_ destroy the surface or its inhabitants; well…to be fair, it did. The energy wave _did_ disintegrate human and animal bodies and destroyed vegetation that would take years to grow again, though crops in those areas tended to be larger than average when they did begin to grow.

But…it did not destroy _everything_.

Those gems who had been left on the planet – from elite gems that were trampled or pushed away from the galaxy warp to soldiers on the battlefield – should have been shattered on contact, but they weren’t. At least, not their physical forms. To this is day, those on Earth don’t know what exactly occurred or how, but gems weren’t shattered.

They were _corrupted_.

As though someone went inside and crushed their intellect, their personality, their very being, and reduced them to…monsters. As their minds turned in on themselves, so did their forms, transforming a gem’s body into a beast or worse.

The Diamonds were unaware of what transpired on the surface. They had assumed their last resort had been successful and certainly, as scientists made semi-regular checkups on the cluster and experimented with some of the shards they managed to find, it looked to be true. The Prime Kindergarten was completely abandoned and other than a few odd noises every once in a while, things seemed to be in hand and in order.

Back on Homeworld, as years turned to centuries and then to a millennium - leading the society from Era 1 to Era 2, then Era 3 - the events of the war were erased from public knowledge. Only a few gems were left from Era 1 and they were in no hurry to relive or even remember the war they barely escaped. So, gems in the newest eras weren’t aware of a rebellion or a war, of a Diamond shattered before her time, or of the rebels known as the Crystal Gems.

Life went back to what Era 1 gems remembered and missed in the aftermath. What most didn’t know was that their resources were dwindling and they didn’t know why.

What the _Diamonds_ didn’t know was that three members of the Crystal Gems still lived, their forms being protected by the shield of the rebel leader, Rose Quartz. They also didn’t know that there was a lone amethyst quartz soldier who had been left on the planet, emerging nearly 500 years after the war’s end.

What fate couldn’t predict was that the rebel leader would fall in love and with a human, no less; she would give up her form for a child, a hybrid between human and gem, all because mother and father wanted a child together.

Fate, and to some extent the Earth, wouldn’t give up its secrets until a lone peridot came to check on the cluster in facet five…


End file.
